Ghost In The Cell
by notjaneausten
Summary: Rick comes back from a supply run and informs the group that he lost Carol during a Walker attack. Daryl is devastated by her loss and retreats to the cell they shared finding comfort in the things she left behind. Previously posted on nine lives... Disclaimer: All characters remain the property of Robert Kirkman and AMC...
1. Chapter 1

_'__I don't pick up the phone, I don't pick up the mail_

_I don't answer the door, I'd just as soon be alone_

_I don't keep this place up, I just keep the lights down_

_I don't live in these rooms, I just rattle around…'_

Daryl drifted into wakefulness, letting the familiar smells and sounds surround him. He sniffed the air and instead of the comforting smell of honey infused oatmeal, all he got in his nostrils was the acrid tang of something burning on the bottom of the pan. He wondered for a moment whether Carol had overslept and nearly fell out of the bunk when instead of rolling against the warmth of another body in the bed; he grasped at thin air instead. He forced himself up and sat on the edge of the mattress, sinking his head into his hands as the memories poured over him.

_'__She's gone, Daryl.' Rick had thought long and hard about how to break the news of Carol's departure to the hunter; and decided to keep it simple._

_'__Stop kiddin' around, Rick and let me know where she's at? Suppose she's up in A block with Lizzie? Or helping Beth out with Ass Kicker?' Daryl pulled at the edge of his poncho, and was getting more than a little irritated with the way Rick never seemed to be able to answer a question directly._

_'__No, she's gone, Daryl as in…not coming back.' Only Rick knew the true nature of the reason behind Carol's departure, and had decided to just tell the rest of the group that Carol had been lost whilst on a supply run; the group was heartbroken and naturally assumed the worst. Rick broke the news to Daryl as soon as he, Michonne and Tyreese had returned back from their run to the Animal Clinic, searching for desperately need medicine for the flu outbreak that was spreading like wildfire around the prison. _

_Rick watched at all of the colour drain from the hunters face and only just managed to catch the hunter before Daryl's knees crumpled as he hit the dirt._

_'__Ya took care of…' Daryl hoarsely whispered, unable to complete the rest of the question._

_'__Yeah, I took care of everything.' Rick assured his friend as he held out a hand to help Daryl to his feet. 'You need to rest, we'll talk more in the morning.'_

_'__I wanna bring her back here, put her next to Lori…' Daryl's eyes were red rimmed as he kept his head bowed as he slowly made his way back into the cell block. Michonne crossed over to his side, offering silent support but recognising that he was no shape to accept condolences from the crowd gathering in the common area._

_'__I'll talk to Rick about that, I'm sure we can work something out…get some rest.' Michonne led Daryl to his perch and stood watching as he just sat staring into space; not making any move to get out of his poncho or to remove his crossbow. She knew that it would hit him hard and when he would least expect it. Michonne looked at her friend for a moment before sighing heavily and heading back downstairs to talk to Rick about funeral arrangements. It was strange but he was suddenly nowhere to be seen…_

Daryl had left his perch around midnight and made his way to Carol's cell; for the last couple of months he'd been sneaking in more and more until they were virtually sharing occupancy. He still left most of his stuff out on the perch, but it was mainly for appearances sake; neither wanted to make a big deal out of whatever it was between them. He needed whatever comfort he could gather from the place they had called their own; Rick had said that it had happened two days ago, but he could still smell the faint fragrance of her lavender mint body wash clinging to the shirt she'd left in the corner, probably in readiness for her laundry day.

"Daryl, you coming down for breakfast? Beth managed to burn the pancakes, so it's cold cereal again." Tyreese poked his head through the curtain hanging in the doorway of Carol's cell; when he couldn't find him on the perch, the cell was the first place he'd thought of to look.

"Not hungry," Daryl muttered as he scooped up Carol's dirty shirt from the corner and carefully folded it and placed it on top of the dresser in the corner of the cell. He straightened out the bedclothes and made sure that her pillow was placed dead centre of the mattress; where he lovingly caressed it before moving away a few paces; resting his forehead against the top bunk. He heard Tyreese move away from the door and sent a quick prayer of thanks to have friends that weren't into touchy feely nonsense and knew just when to leave him alone.

A light tap on the doorframe came not five minutes later, and he just ignored it. A second tap had him sighing and calling out in a soft growl; "Please….just not now, okay?"

"Okay, but you can't stay in there all day and mope. Trust me, it don't get any better…" The husky tones of Michonne's low voice had Daryl slumping to the floor. He knew that the warrior woman had lost her boyfriend, Mike and her small son, Andre in the early days.

"I jest cain't, 'Chonne….all those people…" Daryl pressed his fingers hard against his eyelids, and saw the shadow of Michonne sliding to the floor from the narrow edge under the curtain.

"I know, believe me I know. I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you, Daryl. Whatever you need." Michonne leant her head against the cold concrete and meant every word. She'd nearly lost herself when she'd discovered what Mike had done; his actions alone were the only thing that had caused her to lose her sweet baby boy. She wasn't going to let Daryl slip away from the group; she'd let him have a few days and then she was going to make sure that he came back to them…he needed them as much as they needed him.

"I'm going to switch off with Tyreese, we're going to make sure that no one bothers you for a while. You're going to be okay, Daryl…you really are." Michonne rose to her feet when she saw Tyreese making his way up the staircase toward her; his jaw was set hard but he held up a hand when she started to ask what was wrong.

"It just reminds me a little too much of Karen right now, let's just get Daryl through today…this one's gonna be the hardest." Tyreese sat down at the top of the stairs and gave Michonne a slight smile as she passed him by with a pat on one of his broad shoulders.

"Okay, big guy. Give me a shout when it all gets too much and I'll come and relieve you."


	2. Chapter 2

'_I'm just a ghost in this house, I'm just a shadow upon these walls_

_As quietly as a mouse I haunt these halls_

_I'm just a whisper of smoke, I'm all that's left of two hearts on fire_

_That once burned out of control, you took my body and soul_

_I'm just a ghost in this house…'_

Daryl didn't emerge from Carol's cell at all the first day and refused all meals that were pressed upon him by either Tyreese or Michonne. As darkness fell, Michonne stiffly rose from her position posted just outside of Carol's cell door, feeling her muscles protest against being used again after so long. She peered through the slit in the crack and saw that Daryl had fallen asleep against the bottom bunk; holding one of Carol's scarf tightly in his hands. She didn't want to wake him so just left the curtain fall back into place as she silently backed out of the cell.

Daryl opened his eyes as soon as he heard Michonne's soft footsteps moving along the corridor. He hadn't been asleep at all, just sitting there quietly making plans. He toed off his boots, and shrugged off his poncho; lining up the boots together at the side of the bed and placing his poncho carefully over the back of the wooden chair next to the bunk. It always drove Carol mad that he would leave his clothes wherever they fell and he was always grumbling that he could never find one of his boots; this was **her **cell though and he didn't want it defiled in any manner.

Daryl crept out of the cell and onto the perch where his meagre possessions were heaped in a pile near to the wall. He leant down and scooped the whole lot into his arms and carefully placed his load into the narrow space between the end of the bunk and the cell wall. He walked over to Carol's small dresser and carefully moved things around a little before going back to his pack. He carefully re-folded each shirt and placed them next to Carol's shirts in the middle drawer. He then gathered up his boxers and socks and nestled them in amongst her own underwear in the top drawer. He felt closer to her, having his things mixed in with hers.

Daryl looked over at the bottom bunk; memories of the nights where they would just hold each other in comfort threatened to explode inside his head. There was no way he could sleep in her bed, with her pillow and not have her beside him; he would surely go insane. He looked over at the top of the dresser, where he'd placed Carol's dirty shirt; without even thinking too much about it, Daryl found himself walking over to bring the shirt to his nose just to take in that smell that was uniquely hers…lavender, mint and a hint of baby formula. Daryl took the shirt and hopped up onto the top bunk, he wrapped it around his pillow and for one of the few times in his adult life, Daryl cried himself to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_'__I don't care if it rains, I don't care if it's clear_

_I don't mind staying in, there's another ghost here_

_She sits down in your chair, and she shines with your light_

_And she lays down her head on your pillow at night…'_

Two weeks after Carol's death and Daryl had almost reverted back to the man he was back at the quarry near Atlanta. He barely spoke unless it was to state what meat he'd brought back from his hunts; he simply didn't care anymore. He barely ate unless reminded to, and the pounds dropped off his already sparse frame; leaving his face gaunt and eyes shadowed. He hated when people started talking about Carol; conversations changed quickly whenever he entered the communal area and he soon started spending more and more time in what he know referred to as 'their' cell. He and Rick had almost come to blows a few days after Daryl emerged into the group once more; when Rick casually suggested that a few of the Woodbury women had shown an interest into moving into the empty cell. Daryl had nearly knocked the metal table over (surprisingly as it was screwed into the floor) as he got right up into Rick's face.

"No one's moving into Carol's cell, no one."

"Daryl, we could really use the space. Now that Hershel is moving people out of isolation…" Rick started, but was stared down again by an angry pair of blue eyes.

"She ain't been dead hardly a week, hell yer ain't even had the guts ter bring her body back fer a proper burial and already yer talkin' about her as if she weren't even that important!" Daryl slammed his fist down onto the table, and then bowed his head, all of the fight leaving his body. "She was important ta me, Rick. I ain't lettin' no one move into that cell. Besides, I already shifted my stuff in there." That quiet statement had everyone looking over in surprise, Daryl had made a big deal about staking out the perch as his private domain the very first day that they arrived and how he was never going to be caged in – and yet here the hunter was, packed up and moved in; lock, stock and barrel. Since then he and Rick had hardly spoken, Daryl because he had nothing to say and Rick because he had too much to say and too much to lose.

Another morning came and when Daryl pushed away his almost untouched bowl of oatmeal and rose from the table, Beth looked up and protested.

"I didn't burn it this time, Daryl! I even added a little honey to sweeten it up."

"Thanks, but I jest ain't all that hungry. Goin' up to my cell and whittle a few more bolts." Daryl attempted a small smile to try and appease Beth's hurt feelings but just couldn't manage it. Every time he tried to eat it sat in a hard lump in the pit of his stomach; until he had to bring it all back up, making him feel even worse in the long run.

"Mind some company?" Michonne rose from the table and followed after Daryl, not even waiting for his response. As they entered the cell and Daryl sat down on the floor, Michonne echoed his position. The last time someone had followed Daryl into the cell and went to sit on the lower bunk, Daryl had nearly lost it completely and it had taken a threat from Hershel to sedate him to calm him down.

"I can sometimes see her sittin' in that chair, head bent over some mendin' or fixin' somethin' for someone…" Daryl muttered as he drew his whittling knife over a thin piece of wood, earmarked for a new bolt.

"I think I can see her sometimes in the kitchen, I turn around to say something and it's only then I realise that she's not there, or at the gate; waiting to open it for you," Michonne quietly stated, it was the first time that Daryl had willingly opened up to talk about Carol and she wanted to keep it mellow for now; before she brought up what she had suspected for a while.

"I miss her, 'Chonne." Daryl whispered quietly, so quietly that she almost missed it. "I can still smell her and it's almost as she is standing right next to me….she smiles at me in that funny way, hell I even miss the way she hogged all of the blankets."

"How long?" Michonne didn't really need to know, it was really just a way to keep him talking; it wasn't good for him to have it all festering inside.

"Seems like forever…but about a year, I guess. Got real close when I was lookin' fer Sophia, and things grew from there."

"Anyone else knew?" Michonne doubted that the two of them would have gone public, the shocked faces around the table when Daryl had announced that Carol had been important to him had been enough for her to realise that, she just wondered whether Rick had known that before he'd done what he'd done.

"Nah…neither one of us was into that in yer face stuff that Glenn and Maggie seemed ter like so much. Wish we had been now though…would have liked fer everyone to have known just how much I…" Daryl's voice cracked and he pressed so hard with his knife that his slender bolt cracked in two under the pressure.


	4. Chapter 4

_'__I'm just a ghost in this house_

_I'm just a shadow upon these walls_

_I'm living proof of the damage heartbreak does…'_

"I think Rick's hiding something." Michonne stated quietly and Daryl's head shot up as another voice from the doorway floated in.

"I do too, and I ain't the only one that thinks so…" Tyreese's deep tones accompanied his wide shoulders as he inched through the curtain, poised in the entryway. "Hershel's called for a special meeting down in the library – five minutes. Rick's out with the pigs and Carl's keeping watch."

"What's goin' on?" Daryl shook his head, confusion written all over his face.

"You'll soon find out. Come on, library." Tyreese edged out of the cell, Michonne and Daryl following. They met Carl at the top of the corridor who nodded and indicated that he would keep an eye on his father whilst the others were in the meeting. Daryl could see from the boy's stoic expression that something serious was going about to go down.

"Look, if this concerns Carl and Rick then he needs to be part of this too. Cain't Beth keep an eye on things from up here?" Daryl looked over at Tyreese, who just shrugged his shoulders; it didn't matter to him who kept watch as long as someone kept an eye on things outside.

"I don't mind, it might look more natural if I were up here with Judith anyway. She's asleep right now, but I can chop some vegetables or something and still keep an eye out." Beth stepped out from her cell, eyes flickering over Carl's face – she knew what was about to be discussed and thought that Carl ought to be there to hear it.

"Okay, Beth you stay up here and holler if you see Rick coming back up. Carl, you come with us. Who's looking after the rest of the kids? I assume Hershel is with us?" Michonne urged Beth to join their small group and looked over to Tyreese with a raised brow.

"Mrs. McLeod has story time – it's just been moved out into the courtyard."

"Let's get to it then." The small group gathered momentum as they headed down the corridor linking their block to the admin block, which not only housed the library but the showers as well.

When they entered it was to see the usual council members seated around the table; Sasha, Hershel, Glenn – added to the meeting were Daryl, Tyreese, Michonne, Maggie and Carl.

"Someone wanna tell me what's goin' on?" Daryl slumped in a chair at the end, Hershel cleared his throat and began.

"We all believe that Rick didn't tell us the whole truth about what happened with Carol out on that run; we think he's hiding something."

"I know my Dad; and he's definitely hiding something. He gets a little tick when he lies and he won't look directly at you." Carl interjected from his seat only to be hushed by Hershel and then the room was filled with the sound of Daryl'

"Hershel, I cain't…I jest cain't listen ta this right now," Daryl shook his head slowly, and looked around the room at each person seated before him. "I know most of ya believed that there was somethin' goin' on between me and her, but always shrugged it off. I don't want to shrug it off anymore, I loved Carol with ma whole heart and I only wish I'd had the guts to do so when she was still here."

"Well, it was a shame I had to die before you could tell me that little snippet of information!" A very familiar voice came from the far corner of the room; where a door had just opened.

"Carol…!" Carl leapt up from his seat and ran around the table to embrace the emancipated looking woman that had just stepped through the door. She was hobbling slightly, and covered with Walker guts from head to toe – but Carol Peletier was definitely alive.

"That, ladies and gentlemen, is why I no longer have any trust in our former leader." Hershel stood up from his seat and helped Carol over to the couch; rather than the table. Daryl was still sitting looking as he'd seen a ghost; if it wasn't for everyone else chattering away like magpies then he'd have thought he was hallucinating. "Maggie, pass me over my kit and the contents of that little bag would you, honey?" Hershel gestured over to where he'd placed a few items near the table. Daryl found his voice once more, but it came out hoarse and strangled.

"Carol…I cain't…Rick told me…" He shook his head, hair falling over his eyebrows and when he looked up, tears were streaming down his hollowed out cheeks. Carol looked over and beckoned him to join her on the couch – to her mind, he'd had just as hard a time of it as she'd had.

"I know, Pookie." Carol leant her weary head against Daryl's shoulder and felt him grip her hand tightly within his own.

"How…?"

"'Cause that's what he told me he was going to tell y'all. That I'd died out on the run, so that none of you would follow me."

"That son of a bitch!" Tyreese's low curse echoed through the library and he knelt at Carol's feet. "This was because of Karen and David wasn't it?"

"Yeah…and because of my family's farm." Carol reached up to wipe a single tear that had fallen onto the larger man's face. "It wasn't your fault, Ty. None of it!"

"Wanna fill the rest of us on your little pow-wow; I thought we all agreed to no more secrets?" Carl didn't understand anything; except for Carol knew that Rick was going to tell everyone that she was dead and that it was somehow connected to her family farm and the deaths of Karen and David.

"Karen and David had a pact that if their conditions worsened they would help each other out. Kinda like our pact – no one turns. Karen did David first, but was too weak to finish herself. I agreed to help her if necessary and Tyreese and I both agreed that we should burn the bodies." Carol tugged her hand out of Daryl's grasp and wrapped her arms around the shaking shoulders of the big man as his tears soaked into her dirty shirt.

"You're getting Walker guts all over you," Carol murmured and Tyreese merely hugged her a little tighter to show her that he didn't care, just that he was glad she was back.

"What about your farm?" Maggie asked, she handed Hershel his requested items and he pulled out a set of clean clothes and gestured for Carol to step back behind the door to change. Daryl gave a little grunt of protest when Maggie went back to help but settled back against the couch cushions when Carol raised her voice so that she could continue her story.

"I was telling Tyreese and Karen; before the sickness spread, about the farm my parent's had up near the mountains. It's fairly remote but it's got fantastic soil; I don't think Daddy ever had a bad year for crops. Anyway, when all of this madness first started to happen Daddy said that he would try to leave me a message if he and Mama made it through okay; but I either never got them or Ed intercepted them. Ty and Karen offered to go up there and check things out; I was thinking that moving to the farm would be a better environment for all of us than sticking around here." Carol's voice grew quieter as she came back into the library and settled back down on the couch. "Rick must have been listening in because one of the first reasons he gave when he left me out on that road; he said he wasn't prepared to give up the prison on a foolish pipe dream. He left me a car, a tank of gas and a bag of supplies; said if I was so desperate to live on a farm then I should go and bury myself next to Sophia…" Carol felt Daryl tense beside her, and rubbed her hand soothingly up and down his arm until she felt him relax.

"I was taking a little stroll earlier this afternoon and I happened to notice what I thought was a Walker climbing over the back wall – you know where we never did fix where Ty and Sasha first came in. I was just about to call out, when I noticed the 'Walker' was walking quite naturally and managed to open the door to the boiler room without a hitch…That's when I called for this 'special meeting'…" Hershel looked up from where he had been wrapping a bandage around Carol's left ankle. He then noticed that she'd carried in a small wooden crate into the room with her. "What's in the crate?"

"Just something I picked up along the way…." Carol said nonchalantly, nudging the crate with the side of her foot.

"'Mason Family Farm – fine purveyors of fruit and vegetables for over forty years' Holy cow, Carol! You really did it!" Carl squinted as he read the faded stamp on the side of the crate.

"And yer Mama? Daddy?" Daryl questioned quietly, tears glistened beneath Carol's lashes as she looked over at him with a beaming smile.

"Both looking forward to meeting you, Pookie. That is, if you want to?" Carol held her breath as she watched Daryl's face carefully.

"Hmm…living in a four by four cell in a prison that's in an all-out war with a freak with a Godlike complex or returning to a place that's nearly home…? That's a tough question, cookie. Can I think about it?" He smirked over at her and then nearly crushed her ribs as he held her tighter and tighter; "No question, baby. Home we go. Thinkin' about asking any of these goons ta come along?" Hands shot up in the air as the room was filled with chants of 'Pick Me!', 'Pick Me!'

"Well, it is a large homestead; there's the main house, then the guest house, the bunkhouse where the ranch hands used to stay over the summer…" Stunned faces filled the room as the enormity of the 'little family farm' soon became apparent. "I forgot to mention that my Mama used to raise race horses? Daddy was the farmer but Mama was the horsewoman…"

"Where do I sign?" Michonne rose from the table, "I'm not an idiot people, and only an idiot would hang around here when paradise is waiting just up the road…Wait, how far is this farm of yours? You've been gone two weeks, right? So four days to get there, four days with your parents and then another four to get back…."

"Yeah, but I was on my own; driving eight hour shifts – I had to change cars twice, that piece of crap Rick left me didn't even last a hundred miles before it conked out on me. Daddy gave me one of the farm trucks to get back in; I left it in the bushes just out of sight." Carol leant closer into Daryl's side as she gave a wide yawn. "Sorry, drove most of the night to get back; then had to fight off a couple of Walkers to get back in. There aren't that many around the back, so that would be the best way if anyone else is going to come along." Her words got slower and slower as she drifted off into sleep, Daryl glared at anyone that threatened to get too close.

"I just wanted to see what was in the box…she said it was a present. Oh My God! Beans…peas…squash….okra…carrots…It's like Heaven in a box!" Glenn dipped in a hand and held up each item as he found them.

"Time for a little decision making people, do we stay or do we go?" Daryl looked slowly around the room, there were many 'ayes' and not a single 'nay'; not even from Carl. He had no idea about the rest of the refugees they'd taken in from Woodbury; they were welcome to take over the whole placed as far as he was concerned.

"Who's gonna tell, Rick?" Tyreese's quiet question immediately stopped all of the chatter, everyone wanted to know what they were going to do if Rick vetoed the plan.

"Me and Carol will be leavin' anyway; I don't care what Rick has to say about that one little bit. He discarded her like a piece of trash and no one treats a Dixon's woman like that. We'll be headin' out in the mornin'- any of you that wants ta come along, have yer stuff packed and meet in here at the crack of dawn. We won't be hangin' around fer breakfast, so if yer comin' eat well tonight." Daryl looked everyone in the eye, something that was rare for him; but if this was the last time they would be together like this, he wanted to remember it for always.

"Come on, people. I suggest we get back upstairs and start thinking about what we are going to tell Rick. Glenn, put that box down." Hershel looked sternly over at his son in law. "I don't think we want to advertise Carol's return just yet, do we?"

"No, sir." Glenn looked forlornly at the sight of the fresh vegetables just out of reach.

"I don't want Rick to know Carol's back at all, I was just gonna slip outta here in the mornin', leavin' that little box in his cell as kind of a f-you gesture. Those of you that choose to stay behind will get to eat some of that, but those of you that come along…."

"Plenty more where that came from…got another three boxes in the back of the truck, for the journey. Mama promised to make pecan pie with real ice cream for dessert on our first night back." Carol murmured sleepily, shifting so that she was lying across Daryl's lap on the sofa. "Where'd everyone go?"

"Think it was the mention of your Mama's pie…I guess they've all gone ter pack." Daryl looked around the suddenly empty room.

"Very funny, Pookie." Carol murmured as she lifted her head.

"No seriously, I think they've all gone ter get their stuff. Looks like the Mason family just got a whole lot bigger!" Daryl leant his head back against the sofa and began to plan the logistics of the move in his head. When he was still figuring out how to move his and Carol's stuff out of their cell undetected, he fell asleep; smirking at the thought of it would look for the whole group of them to sneak out 'Ninja' style and disappear into the woods…


End file.
